the_west_marchesfandomcom-20200214-history
Ave
Ave Physical description A 28 year old Aasimar, with silver hair falling down to the small of her back and a light golden tone to her skin stands in the middle of the field. A wiry character, her 5'9" figure an odd mixture of muscles and undereating. Her body is littered with small scars of all kinds, some old and healed over, and some fresher. Her topaz eyes dart around the surrounding area, searching for something, unseen to a stranger. Suddenly, a small purple Pseudodragon flies down and lands on her shoulder. She reaches up to pet it as it nuzzles into her neck. Backstory Humfry and Miranda Zahle were a perfectly normal human couple. They had grown up in Waterdeep, been there all their lives, and worshiped Hathor. They had had a son named Elaman, and had never really had any massive problems. They weren't well off by any stretch of the imagination, but they had a roof over their heads and generally had enough food every night. Then they fell pregnant again, but this one was different, Miranda could tell from the start. When Miranda gave birth to Sasha she suffered extreme complications and became gravely ill. However, as she grew, her parents could see that she was blessed in some way: she was a child of Hathor it seemed. Sasha grew up in Waterdeep having a loving family. Elaman was somewhat jealous of the attention she got due to her religious blessing, but there was never anything extreme. However, Miranda grew worse and worse every year. The toll of giving birth to Sasha had weakened her so immensely that she stayed in bed most days: it was a good day when she could walk around the house and cook. Sasha spent a lot of time with her, tending to her, caring for her, talking to her. They did as much together as they possibly could. As Sasha grew, she tried to devote herself to Hathor, following her teachings whenever she could. She learnt how to read and write, but was in no way proficient or talented in anything academic. She was better at talking to people, but even then, the words wouldn't come out right and she always felt awkward. When Sasha was 16, Miranda's illness grew suddenly worse. Doctors and clerics of all talents and faiths were called, but none were able to help. The family used the last of their money to pay for treatment, but nothing worked. She suffered for months before she died suddenly, alone. Humfry, heartbroken by the loss of his wife, cast Sasha out, blaming her illness on their child. He disowned her, forcing her onto the streets, with no other family to turn to. Sasha wandered the streets of Waterdeep, often seeing her old friends and family, who would turn away and ignore her, disgusted by how far she had fallen. She struggled for months, learning how to survive, often starving or finding herself at the wrong end of a City Guardsman's sword. After 6 months or so, Sasha found herself followed by a group of young City Guardsmen. They tore apart her ramshackle home, stole her food, and broke her body. She didn't know how long it went on or why it happened, but all she felt was pain. She couldn't move for days, and then eventually crawled out of the alley only when motivated to by near starvation. That night, she heard a Voice in her dreams. It seemed endless, voiceless, timeless, but ultimately present. It offered her power, riches, revenge, love, hope: everything. It would train her and provide her with the knowledge she needed to become the best she could, to ensure she could protect herself. She refused, knowing that this contravened the teachings of Hathor. As the group came back again and again, the Voice returned stronger and stronger, more and more insistent. Still she refused. However, after one incident, she turned up at the Zahle family door, having no one else to turn to. Humfry opened the door, looking at her, told her she deserved it, then shut her out. That was the night she agreed to the Voice. She felt the strength surge through her as agreed. Sasha changed her name to Ave to put the past behind her and started making her way out of the city. She wasn't sure where she was going, she just knew that she needed to leave. On her travels, she met Lila, a small Pseudodragon that had not left her side since, and had become the closest thing to family she had. Then eventually, she found her way to Krakenfall, to start a new life as a new person.